UPDATE 10:23 pm: The first interview is going to take place on Monday night in San Francisco, according to an update from Adrian Wojnarowski.

This is just the first step in the process. That process will not necessarily move quickly as Gentry is busy helping the Warriors game-plan for the Rockets in the Western Conference Finals. Smart move by the Pelicans to start the process now — and put a little pressure on the Bulls to make their move sooner rather than later.

5:54 pm: Alvin Gentry is going to be a head coach somewhere next season. Deservedly so (we’ll get into that, just keep reading).

The best NBA coaching job open right now is with the New Orleans Pelicans. It’s the best job thanks to two words: Anthony Davis. Three words if you throw in gumbo.

The New Orleans Pelicans have ‎been granted permission to interview Golden State Warriors assistant coach Alvin Gentry for their coaching vacancy, according to league sources.

Sources told ESPN.com that Gentry has emerged as one of the leading candidates for the position alongside Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, who is widely expected to part company with the Bulls this offseason.

Gentry is the best offensive mind available on the open coaching market. This season he was the right hand to Steve Kerr at Golden State and the guy in charge of putting their offense together — the second most efficient offense in the NBA. The season before that he was the right hand to Doc Rivers in Los Angeles and handled that offense, where he led Chris Paul and Blake Griffin to being the most inefficient offense in the NBA. Gentry runs a modern NBA offense with ball-screens, motion, up-tempo play and plenty of three-point shooting to space the floor.

Yes, Gentry is a “retread” in the sense he has more than 700 games as an NBA head coach and a .475 win percentage. But sometimes guys figure things out as they hang around the game and become better coaches, ones who fit an evolution in the sport. Gentry can be one of those guys.

It’s fun to picture what he could do with Anthony Davis and that offense (especially if Jrue Holiday and Ryan Anderson are healthy for a full season).

The Pelicans may have played too slowly but they were a top-10 offense last season under Monty Williams. They were a bottom 10 defensive team. That’s the end of the floor where improvement is most needed.

Could Gentry help there as well? As much as Thibodeau?

Either way, better to start the process than to be the one standing without a chair when the music stops.

“Let’s just let it play out, though. I don’t even know what’s going on. I just signed, let it start first.”

Anthony coming off the bench, being the fulcrum of the offense when James Harden and Chris Paul are on the bench makes some sense (CP3 and Harden are better and more efficient shot creators than Anthony at this point). It’s a chance for Anthony to get his touches and help the other two rest. However, the idea of Anthony starting the first and third quarters and getting heavy touches then but sitting more later is not out of the question.

At the end of close games, D’Antoni is more likely to lean on James Ennis — a long, switchable defender who can shoot threes in the Trevor Ariza mold — than Anthony. It will be just a better fit. Will Anthony roll with that? Will it cause problems in the locker room?

Boring version. Rookie hazing. I was still driving a 03 Mitsubishi my whole rookie year. And cuz I talk shit I was like “f it popcorn my car 🤷🏾‍♂️” when they would threaten me, so they got more creative.

It’s not hard to see why. Butler pulled himself up from the bottom and has developed an understanding of how he got here. He has shown little patience for those who don’t match his work ethic and competitiveness. The younger Wiggins and Towns are former No. 1 picks who seem too content at times.